You may know the benefits of having a good towing website, but actually building one can be a daunting task. You want to make sure that people can find your business, but with all of the different online marketing tools out there, it can be difficult to know where to start. One of the primary tools you’ll want to use, though, is SEO or Search Engine Optimization. So, here’s some insight as to how it works and why you should care if your towing website is optimized.
What is SEO?
First, let’s define SEO. Search Engine Optimization is how you can improve the quality of your website so that search engines (mainly Google) can rank your website’s relevance to certain search terms. Basically, it’s how well a search engine can read your website to rank it highly for the search terms that you want.
The thing is, search engines have gotten smarter and smarter over the past few years. So, slapping a bunch of keywords onto your site can actually hurt your site’s chances of being seen.
Why should towing businesses care?
Well, the entire point of SEO is to help a website become one of the first results in someone’s internet search. The higher up your website shows in search results, the more likely someone is to click on it. The more people that click on your website means more potential customers who are looking specifically for what your towing company does.
In short, having an SEO-friendly website drives traffic to your website and therefore your business. More people search for what they need through the Internet rather than remembering billboard or car wrap ads. So, optimizing your towing website is an opportunity to get more customers.
How can I make my website more SEO-friendly?
It’s easy to use tools like Wordpress, Wix, or GoDaddy to make websites, but it’s up to decide the look of your webpage. To make your content SEO-friendly, you’ll want to do at least these 7 things:
1. Don’t load your website up with keywords
Like we said before, search engines have gotten smart. They can now judge the intent of your keywords over their frequency. So, repeating phrases over and over again will almost make sure that Google sends your site to the bottom of its search results.
2. Use different, specific keywords for what you do
Instead, vary the types of keywords you use and be specific when you can. Decide what type of audience you want searching for your business and market for their needs. For example, if you offer roadside assistance, mention that instead of “towing” every so often. If you want contracts with city governments, mention that you’re willing to go on rotation.
This goes for your location as well. A “towing company in Chicago” will have a lot of competition for other businesses trying to rank highly with that same information. However, using phrases like “repossessions in Oak Park” or “Arlington Heights” or even “throughout Dekalb County, IL” may help you rank highly for Chicago search results anyway. Additionally, if a client is using location services, Google can more easily pinpoint your business as available in that person’s area.
3. Make your website easy to navigate
Google can also tell how easy your site is to navigate. (See? We told you it was smart.) It uses this information to determine how likely people are to stay on your website to get the information they need. If people can’t easily find the information they need, they’re less likely to use your website and your services. This makes less likely for Google to recommend your website to more people.
So, make sure the important parts of your website are easily accessible. Create top-bar menus that are clearly marked and categorized. Bonus points if you also create a search bar for your website so that people can just type in what they need.
4. Use the proper formatting
Using the right website formats can help your SEO as well. Header tags can give a more polished look to a site with a lot of information, it can divide categories of content, and it gives Google main points to pull from when ranking your site.
Additionally, people like content that’s skimmable. So, when appropriate, use bullet-points, numbered lists, pictures, and short paragraphs to get your main points across.
5. Make your website mobile-friendly
This can be especially important for towing websites. Think about it – most of your clients will be stuck in a situation where they don’t have a laptop or desktop handy. So, it’s vital to make sure that your potential clients can navigate your site on a mobile device.
Create buttons and text that are big enough to see and interact with on a smartphone. Look at your site from different devices to see how its format changes. And again, if you have trouble, website building tools usually have ways to view your website as it will show on various devices.
6. Be easily reachable from your website
Your clients also need to know how to reach you – fast. So, make your phone number and email clearly visible all over your site. If you want to go the extra mile, find plugins that create links to your phone and email. From there, people will be able to contact you without the worry of mistyping a vital number or letter.
7. Check your website’s speed
Most people expect a website to load fast. If your website loads slower than fast, you risk customers getting impatient and leaving before they even see what you can do. Therefore, check your website’s speed every so often using an online tool. Don’t load down your page with too many images or widgets and check your links and pictures to make sure they load properly.
Making your towing website SEO-friendly can seem stressful, but there are tons of simple steps that you can build upon to make your business rank highly in search results. It just takes a little time and research.
We know that finding the right tow truck insurance can take lots time and patience from your busy day. That’s why our agents are here to take on this burden for you. We have tons of relationships with trusted carriers so that we can give you the best rates on quality coverage. To start getting customized quotes and stop missing out on lower tow truck insurance rates, give us a call, fill out our online form, or LiveChat with a professional today!